Latin America spices up RSA's performance

Insurance group RSA said it had made a good start to the year, with growth led by emerging markets, especially those in Latin America.

Net written premiums of £2.2bn in the first quarter were up by 5% from a year earlier, with one percentage point of that accounted for by an increase in business volumes while the rest is down to premium increases.

On a constant exchange rates basis, net written premiums were up by 3% in Scandinavia (to £667m), Canada (£303m) and the UK & Western Europe (£937m), while in Emerging Markets they were up by 21% to £281m.

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"Growth has been led by our areas of key strategic focus including Emerging Markets, where Latin America was a particular highlight, global Speciality lines and Household and Pet in the UK. For the full year, we remain confident of delivering good premium growth and a combined operating ratio for the group of better than 95%." the group's Chief Executive Officer, Simon Lee, said. The combined operating ratio is a measure of profitability which measures how well a company has taken on insurance risks.

The group said it expects to generate investment income of around £500m over the full year.

JH